VGA out for ESP32-S3 - New feature to test

[Electroguard]

Maybe he meant PS3 not PS2 (serial playstation controller)

[Fernando Perez]

No, no, Robin. I mean PC keyboards with a PS2 connector. They are easy to buy, new, and at reasonable prices.
I have some from when I experimented with Fabrizio's dedicated software for ESP32 VGA 1.4 boards.

http://retrowiki.es/viewtopic.php?f=114 ... p200149614
https://www.lilygo.cc/products/fabgl-vga32

They should be easier to use with microcontrollers, since there were very complete libraries at Bascom.
What times!

[cicciocb]

Honestly I do not foresee to have a keyboard and a screen to become a kind of vintage computer; this is not what I want.
Annex is WIFI and will remain wifi; what I foresee is more a VGA with touchscreen

[bedesign]

Many years ago, I **recreated and extended a program that can take as input a standard
resistor series value-set, or from your own collection in your shoebox, with preferably
all resistors measured and listed in a file, using up to three resistors combined.

This makes it possible to achieve any arbitrary value with a precision of up to 7 figures,
or at least as good as the resistance meter or the unmeasured resistor series allow.

A less than 1% divergence can be reached with surprisingly few different values from your
shoebox, which is practically impossible with manual methods.

Optionally, replace the content of the R_INV-DB.TXT template file with your stock listing.

**The original creator of this idea (whose finer details were erased from the Internet),
mentioned that it is not recommended to land on Mars with adjustable resistors.

"No security vendors and no sandboxes flagged this file as malicious as of today -
SHA-256: 1cc30fb267d0aa2eb4565e60887c3307f5ad504423b49ef72147a1a118af26e3"
'High Precision Resistor Calc_2.0.zip'

This is the first time I have published it.
It's stand-alone, and should work with all NT MS-OS:s and WINE as well.

High Precision Resistor Calc_2.0.zip

[cicciocb]

Many years ago, I **recreated and extended a program that can take as input a standard
resistor series value-set, or from your own collection in your shoebox, with preferably
all resistors measured and listed in a file, using up to three resistors combined.

This makes it possible to achieve any arbitrary value with a precision of up to 7 figures,
or at least as good as the resistance meter or the unmeasured resistor series allow.

A less than 1% divergence can be reached with surprisingly few different values from your
shoebox, which is practically impossible with manual methods.

Optionally, replace the content of the R_INV-DB.TXT template file with your stock listing.

**The original creator of this idea (whose finer details were erased from the Internet),
mentioned that it is not recommended to land on Mars with adjustable resistors.

"No security vendors and no sandboxes flagged this file as malicious as of today -
SHA-256: 1cc30fb267d0aa2eb4565e60887c3307f5ad504423b49ef72147a1a118af26e3"
'High Precision Resistor Calc_2.0.zip'

This is the first time I have published it.
It's stand-alone, and should work with all NT MS-OS:s and WINE as well.

High Precision Resistor Calc_2.0.zip

Thanks, will certainly be useful

[Electroguard]

Yes, thanks for that, once I have adjusted the pots for optimum white balance, it would be handy not to need manual calculations to replace pot values with combinations of fixed resistors. EDIT It doesn't work with WINE on MX-21 yet, but I can try again on something else.
And no, I won't be using pots to land on mars, only to prevent space invaders from landing here.
There are resistor matrix's for multiple button keypads etc, but I will only need left, right, and fire buttons, plus up and down for menu navigation, and it will be better just to read those buttons via serial from a ps3 controller - so I think I'll be able to save the world from invasion.

Touchscreen might be better for menu navigation, but I've found out the hard way that TFT touchscreens work using resistors hidden in those 'plastic manufacturing defects' jutting out around the screen... so filing them off to make the display fit better causes the touchscreen to no longer work.
I've seen touchscreen add-on kits advertised for sticking to ordinary monitors, but not sure how practical they are, and I doubt Annex caters for them yet anyway - so buttons it is.

[Fernando Perez]

<< Honestly I do not foresee to have a keyboard and a screen to become a kind of vintage computer; this is not what I want.
Annex is WIFI and will remain wifi; what I foresee is more a VGA with touchscreen >>

I completely agree. Also, it would be "reinventing the wheel", since the work done by Fabrizio with the FabGL library is immense. And it's finished. It hasn't been updated for more than a year.

And I guess that's because when you build the system, like I did, on an ESP32VGA v1.4 module, and plug in a PS2 mouse and keyboard, an old VGA monitor, and an SD card, you spend quite a few days entertained, sometimes excited, to recreate with a tiny 6x3 cm Chinese pot all the operating systems you remember from your youth and a multitude of games and applications (dBase II) that you used all those years ago.
But after a few days (quite a few), it ends up in a drawer, since it has no greater use in practical life, in daily life.

This brings us to what can be done with your VGA system:
I've been looking and can't find the N16R8V, which Mouser has already listed as obsolete. Only the N32R8V, at a price of €16.20 plus €20 shipping.
https://www.mouser.es/ProductDetail/Esp ... CZ4g%3D%3D

If the future is to control VGA touch screens, how much does one cost us? The normal ones for home use do not fall below €150. The industrial ones, better not to know.

So, I need ideas on what to do with what I have, and make it practical. I am right now with a weather station, which looks good.
Taking advantage of the fact that I still use a Panasonic television with VGA input, I thought of setting up a system that using the Annex's infrared control capacity, changes the channel you are watching and displays warning screens, with the new Annex VGA system.
More ideas?
I have many questions, but I am already spreading too much. Just two:
- Do these ESP32-S3 modules have I2S capability for audio?
- Can you detail me precisely how to connect and how to set up a TFT screen?
I have ILI9341, ST7796, ILI9486 and I have not been able to do it with any.

[cicciocb]

HI Fernando,
first of all I like always do new things, explore and learn.
So, connecting the USB to the ESP32-S3 gives me a new domain to explore (mouse, keyboards and touchscreen, ...).
For sure the touchscreen is not "economically" interesting as it is much cheaper to use an old tablet but, I have a display with a touchscreen so I'll try to implement the support just for my personal fun.

There are a lot of projects around with CPM / Windows / old console emulators but all these projects do not have any practical use.
All that stuff can be done on any PC without requiring any particular H/W so, except for the developer that had fun into developing it, I do not even understand the finality; but this is just my personal opinion.

Coming back to Annex for the esp32-S3, you can connect any display using the wiring as you want; just define the kind of screen and the pins in the config page and voilà.
For the audio, I not yet tested it but, except for the DAC missing, all should work as for the classic ESP32.

Do not forget one important thing :
you can use the VGA output AND also a TFT touchscreen; this opens a new field to explore .....

[Electroguard]

...what can be done with your VGA system

As far as controlling my VGA system (based on what is already available) I consider my realistic options are...

Gesture control - only very short range, and visibly messy to implement the gesture module
Home-made Nav buttons - but needs multiple long wires, and is visibly 'tacky' to implement
PS3 controller serial buttons - neat and tidy using simple serial cable, needs 'discovery' of the serial codes for the nav buttons
PS3 controller bluetooth - no Annex support, but should be possible to use arduino ESP32 with PS3 library to send serial controller codes to the Annex VGA
IR - usually works, but was subject to false signals and erratic blocking by IR signal storms

So having considered my options, I intend using serial port on PS3 controller (10 euros) for nav buttons (and even joysticks if needed), then eventually upgraded same controller to be bluetooth paired with arduino ESP32 running PS3 library to remotely receive PS3 controller signals and pass them straight out the serial port (which it probably already does) to be received serially by the Annex S3 VGA.
That's the plan, but got much to cope with before then, so you may have a better solution working first which I might adopt.

[cicciocb]

I have many questions, but I am already spreading too much. Just two:
- Do these ESP32-S3 modules have I2S capability for audio?
- Can you detail me precisely how to connect and how to set up a TFT screen?
I have ILI9341, ST7796, ILI9486 and I have not been able to do it with any.

Just tested ILI9341 and I2S audio -> Work perfectly

IMG_6716.jpg